Worldwide Twitter Campaign to Free Seven Baha'i Prisoners

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Worldwide Twitter Campaign to Free Seven Baha'i Prisoners
by bordbar
26-Aug-2010
 

Charged with baseless accusations that even the hero of "My Uncle Napoleon" (Daie jan Napel'un) is incapable of conjuring up, the Yaran, group of seven Baha'i men and women who with the full knowledge of the Government were in charge of the minimum spiritual needs of the 300,00 strong Baha'i Community of Iran, were recently sentenced to twenty years in prison.

They were immediately taken from the showtrial to the Gohardasht Prison where another mock scene was staged: selected inmates, a handful of regime lackeys who according to sarkhat.com would do anything "for a two-day leave or a piece of opium", received the mothers, grandfather and sons with the vilest vituperations. 

Far from leaving the Iranian Baha'is alone or feeling dissensitized by such unabated cases of injustice against Iran and her peoples, let us voice our concern by participating in the twitter campaign (//twitter.com/free7bahais) and visiting //free7bahais.ca.

Greek poet Constantine Cavafy in a brillant poem describes how societies create their own version of the barbarians (or the other) to blame them for everything under the sky. His poem "Waiting for the Barbarians" concludes that there never were any barbarians in the first place.  They were only a solution. 

Let us seek out real solutions (raah kar) for the Iran of tomorrow. Tweet today.

 

"WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS" 

-What are we waiting for, assembled in the forum?

The barbarians are due here today.

-Why isn't anything going on in the senate?
Why are the senators sitting there without legislating?

Because the barbarians are coming today.
What's the point of senators making laws now?
Once the barbarians are here, they'll do the legislating.

-Why did our emperor get up so early,
and why is he sitting enthroned at the city's main gate,
in state, wearing the crown?

Because the barbarians are coming today
and the emperor's waiting to receive their leader.
He's even got a scroll to give him,
loaded with titles, with imposing names.

-Why have our two consuls and praetors come out today
wearing their embroidered, their scarlet togas?
Why have they put on bracelets with so many amethysts,
rings sparkling with magnificent emeralds?
Why are they carrying elegant canes
beautifully worked in silver and gold?

Because the barbarians are coming today
and things like that dazzle the barbarians.

-Why don't our distinguished orators turn up as usual
to make their speeches, say what they have to say?

Because the barbarians are coming today
and they're bored by rhetoric and public speaking.

-Why this sudden bewilderment, this confusion?
(How serious people's faces have become.)
Why are the streets and squares emptying so rapidly,
everyone going home lost in thought?

Because night has fallen and the barbarians haven't come.
And some of our men who have just returned from the border say
there are no barbarians any longer.

Now what's going to happen to us without barbarians?
Those people were a kind of solution.

(by Constantine Cavafy)

 

 

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more from bordbar
 
Aryana-Vaeja

I don't believe a word you say

by Aryana-Vaeja on

Sorry.

-

May we be amongst those who are to bring about the transfiguration of the Earth - Zoroastrian prayer


Martijn Rep

Dear Aryana-Vaeja

by Martijn Rep on

This was my first comment on Iranian.com since a very long time, hence my 'complete silence' on any other blog until now. You ask me to explain who I am. I use my real name so you'll be able to do your own research if you are interested. To answer your question briefly here, I am not (as far as I am aware ;-)) a member of the bahai internet agency. I have long been interested in Iran which leads to reading news and articles on Iranian.com. It will be no surprise that my interest was sparked by the bahai faith. Your attack on (or from your perspective 'exposure of') the bahais including the seven now senteced to 20 years of imprisonment moved me to make a comment. From my interactions with bahais I have come to quite different conclusions as you have. Now of course I could be lying and writing this because some obscure agency is paying me. Or I may have been foolishly deceived by people with bad intentions. Any other options?

Wishing you the best


Aryana-Vaeja

Martijn Rep, who are you?

by Aryana-Vaeja on

My first question is: who are you and why are you as a non-Iranian posting to this site on this thread thread when other Iranians here are just as capable of responding? What is your interest in this matter? Are you a Baha'i? If so, are you now or have you ever been a member of the Bahai Internet Agency?

You seem to have a lot of information on the finances of the bahai community.

Yes, indeed. The internet and dissent in general can create a very porous and volatile environment full of leaks for totalitarian cults operating under the aegis of Anglo-American Foundation big money lobby elites.

Any evidence that the contributions of bahais to their funds is used for unethical purposes?

Plenty.

 Or do you consider raising of awareness about persecutions of bahais and
asking for intervention of governments and the UN unethical in itself?

Exagerrating claims, minimizing, remaining silent or otherwise systematically attempting to overshadow the plight of other groups by globally lobbying for yours with your deep pockets at the expense of such minorities is not only unethical, it is outright criminal, yes; this, especially when your own human rights track record in relation to schismatic Bahai groups or dissenting individuals is utterly abysmal. Shall I remind you of the lawsuit (currently in appeal in the state of Illinois) brought by the US NSA against the Orthodox and BUPC Bahais for trademark infringement, which was nothing more than an attempt at persecution and to drive these groups out of legal existence and into penury? You people have some gall and nerve talking about human rights at all when you aren't prepared to follow a modicum of one with your own schismatics and dissidents. And, pray tell, what was the Uganda case all about that had you making common cause with fundamentalist Muslims and Christians against the civil and human rights of homosexuals? 

Is it so hard to believe that a group of muslims would make an effort to
raise awareness of the situation of bahais in Muslim countries?

No. But that is not what the MuslimNetworkforBahaiRights is. It is a hokey outfit and possible tax-shelter and money laundering outfit being used by the Haifan Bahai organization for motives other than altruistic ones, especially since most of the individuals sitting on the board of that organization have direct ties with the Haifan bahai organization.

From what I have read until now, Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians
themselves do not report their persecution to be as intense as of the
bahais.

You have been reading the wrong things and obviously have bought into the Haifan Bahai propaganda narrative which deceptively and callously seeks to minimize the plight of other minority groups under the IR and raise and exagerrate that of the Bahai one as a political pointing scoring and one-upmanship strategy to prosletyze the Haifan Bahai version of Bahaism, on the one hand,  to build a power base for the post-IR environment, on the other.

 It looks like you are assuming that anything bahais or supporters of bahais do HAS to be either insincere

You assume correctly. Anything officially the "Haifan Baha'is" (i.e. the Haifan organization based out of Mt Carmel, Israel and under the auspices of the UHJ) is involved with is to be looked on suspiciously, yes, absolutely!

BTW I notice your complete silence on responding to this blog posted here today. What gives?

-

May we be amongst those who are to bring about the transfiguration of the Earth - Zoroastrian prayer


Martijn Rep

Dear Aryana-Vaeja

by Martijn Rep on

Your response to my response still left me with a few questions. I hope you are not too bothered with my ignorance, sound bites and platitudes to enlighten me.

"You obviously have not studied much of the history of the revolution that you can even ask such a question."

I have apparently not studied enough of the history of the revolution. What are the best sources to start with, with reference to persecution of minority religions? From what I have read until now, Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians themselves do not report their persecution to be as intense as of the bahais.

"These are mostly exagerrated claims to begin with"

How do you know they are exaggerated? Do you have a superior source of information?

".. And that is only the tip of a large monetary
iceberg where your organization is concerned, ..."

"You Haifan Baha'is have deep pockets and you are notorious for buying your way into anything and everything."

You seem to have a lot of information on the finances of the bahai community. Any evidence that the contributions of bahais to their funds is used for unethical purposes? Or do you consider raising of awareness about persecutions of bahais and asking for intervention of governments and the UN unethical in itself?

"and we haven't even gotten
into broaching dud, shady outfits such as the Gulf based
MuslimNetworkforBahai rights"

Is it so hard to believe that a group of muslims would make an effort to raise awareness of the situation of bahais in Muslim countries? Is your reasoning: they support bahais so they MUST be paid by bahais or be closet bahais themselves?

It looks like you are assuming that anything bahais or supporters of bahais do HAS to be either insincere (outwardly for lofty purposes but in reality for gain of money and power) or misguided (those poor souls who are misguided by the insincere). From this perspective, anything that looks like support by bahais for human rights of non-bahais is no evidence at all but MUST be a smokescreen.

 


Beatrice_Dante

  اسارت

Beatrice_Dante


 


اسارت مشعل‌داران بهائیان؛ روایت رکسانا صابری از دو هم‌بند بهایی خود


۱۳۸۹/۰۶/۰۸ رکسانا صابری، روزنامه‌نگار ایرانی- آمریکایی، که یک سال و اندی پیش مدتی توسط حکومت ایران بازداشت و در زندان اوین زندانی بود، در مطلبی در روزنامه واشنگتن‌پست با اشاره به خاطرات خود از دوران زندان به سرگذشت چند تن از بهائیان ایران پرداخته است که در ماه گذشته توسط دستگاه قضایی ایران به ۲۰ سال حبس محکوم شدند.

رکسانا صابری در آغاز گفتار خود می‌نویسد که در دوران حبس در زندان اوین مدتی را با دو تن از رهبران جامعه بهایی به نام‌های مهوش ثابت و فریبا کمال‌آبادی سپری کرده است. در این مدت هم‌بندی یک احساس خواهری به آنها پیدا کرده و از نگاه وی آنان زنانی بودند که تنها جرم آنها اجرای مسالمت‌آمیز مراسم دینی خود و مقاومت در برابر زندانبانان برای زیر پا گذاشتن اعتقاداتشان بود. به خاطر همین جرم این دو زن و پنج مرد بهایی در ماه گذشته به ۲۰ سال زندان محکوم شدند.


نویسنده یادآوری می‌کند که بهائیت پر شمارترین اقلیت دینی غیرمسلمان در ایران است که در قرن نوزدهم میلادی شکل گرفت. محور اصلی اعتقادات دینی این آیین این است که یک زمانی در سراسر دنیا صلح و آرامش برقرار خواهد شد. اما از نگاه حکومت ایران بهائیت شاخه کفرآلودی است که از اسلام جدا شده است.    رکسانا صابری در ادامه تشریح دوران هم‌بندی خود با دو زن بهایی در زندان اوین می‌نویسد که مهوش و فریبا هر کدام بین هشت ماه تا یک سال ممنوع‌الملاقات بودند. هر یک از این دو نیمی از دوران حبس خود را در سلول‌های انفرادی گذرانده بودند و با خانواده و جهان خارج هیچ ارتباطی نداشتند. تنها چیزی که در اختیار آنها بود نسخه‌ای از قرآن بود. پس از این مدت زندانبان‌ها به هریک از این دو یک مداد دادند و این مداد برای آنها چقدر ارزشمند بود. اما تنها کاری که می‌توانستند با این مداد انجام دهند حل جدول و معماهای روزنامه‌های دولتی ایران بود.


نویسنده می‌افزاید که جرم مهوش و فریبا و پنج مرد بهایی که اخیراً به ۲۰ سال زندان محکوم شده‌اند، جاسوسی برای اسرائیل، توهین به مقدسات دینی و افساد فی‌الارض اعلام شده است. هر یک از این جرائم در ایران می‌تواند مجازات مرگ داشته باشند. اما بهائیان این اتهامات را رد کرده و می‌گویند جمعیت چند صد هزار نفره بهائیان ایران همه طرفدار مسالمت و در مسائل سیاسی بی‌طرف هستند. رکسانا صابری می‌افزاید که با وجود شرایط دشوار و اتهامات سنگین روحیه دو هم‌بند بهایی وی بسیار عالی بود. هر سه نفر سعی می‌کردند به بهترین وجه از امکانات محدود زندان برای حفظ روحیه و سلامت خود بهره جویند. این دو نفر به رکسانا گفته بودند که با وجود همه فشارها بر جامعه بهائیان آنها قصد ترک ایران را ندارند چون وظیفه خود را نه تنها خدمت به بهائیان بلکه خدمت به کل ایرانیان می‌دانند. رکسانا صابری در ادامه گفتار خود درواشنگتن پست به محاکمه هفت تن از رهبران جامعه بهاییان اشاره کرده و می‌نویسد همان قاضی که یک سال و اندی پیش به جرم واهی جاسوسی برای آمریکا مرا به هشت سال حبس محکوم کرده بود این هفت نفر را به ۲۰ سال زندان محکوم کرده‌است. جرائم این افراد هنوز دقیقاً اعلام نشده است. سازمان‌های مدافع حقوق بشر می‌گویند محاکمه این افراد حتی طبق قوانین ایران نواقض فراوانی داشته است. میزان دسترسی این افراد به وکیل مدافع بسیار محدود بوده و وکلای آنها فقط چند ساعت اجازه بررسی پرونده و مدارک را داشته‌اند. این دادگاه به شکل به اصطلاح علنی با حضور تعدادی از اعضای خانواده‌های متهمان ولی فقط با حضور نمایندگان رسانه‌های وابسته به دولت برگزار شده است. به نوشته خانم صابری در حالی که وکیل مدافع آنها پرونده را برای فرجام‌خواهی به مراجع قضایی فرستاده است مهوش و فریبا از زندان اوین به زندان رجایی‌شهر منتقل شده‌اند. زندانیانی که هر دو زندان را تجربه کرده‌اند می‌گویند شرایط زندان رجایی‌شهر بسیار بدتر از زندان اوین است. این زندان به محل شکنجه شهرت دارد، امکانات بهداشتی و نظافت در آن بسیار بد است و گاهی اوقات زندانیان سیاسی و عقیدتی را در کنار مجرمان و تبهکاران نگه می‌دارند. رکسانا صابری به تبعیض‌های مذهبی علیه پیروان آیین بهائیت اشاره کرده و می‌نویسد بهائیت در قانون اساسی ایران به رسمیت شناخته نشده و پیروان آن از کار اخراج شده و اجازه تحصیلات عالی ندارند. بهائیان خود یک دانشگاه غیررسمی شکل داده‌اند که مهوش ثابت از مدیران آن و فریبا کمال آبادی نیز در این دانشگاه روانشناسی خوانده بود. به گزارش کمیته بین‌المللی بهائیان علاوه بر این هفت نفر که اخیراً محاکمه شده‌اند ۴۴ بهائی دیگر در زندان‌های جمهوری اسلامی هستند. در بخش بعدی این گفتار نویسنده بر اهمیت و ضرورت اعتراض بیشتر به محاکمه و مجازات ناعادلانه بهائیان در ایران تأکید کرده و می‌نویسد که افزایش این اعتراض‌ها به حاکمان ایران و رژیم‌های مستبد دیگر نشان خواهد داد که به خاطر نقض موازین حقوق بشر مسئول شناخته خواهند شد. کسانی مثل مهوش و فریبا حتماً اخبار مربوط به این اعتراض‌ها را خواهند شنید و حمایت جامعه بین‌المللی به آنها نیروی بیشتری خواهد داد تا با فشارهای داخل زندان مقابله کنند. در پایان این گفتار در روزنامه واشنگتن‌پست رکسانا صابری می‌نویسد مطمئن است که این دو زن بهایی زندانی با وجود تمام ظلم‌هایی که در حق آنها صورت گرفته هیچ کینه‌ای به دل نگرفته‌اند. در روزهایی که در زندان بودیم وقتی که من از دست بازجو قاضی عصبانی می‌شدم فریبا و مهوش به من می‌گفتند که از هیچکس کینه‌ای به دل ندارند حتی از سرگوبگران خود. آنها می‌گفتند: «ما به عشق و محبت برای تمام بشریت اعتقاد داریم حتی برای آنهایی که اعمال نادرستی انجام می‌دهند».


Aryana-Vaeja

About time, which goes to show

by Aryana-Vaeja on

A little nudge and cajoling on IC can go a long way. Obviously Omid Djalilli (or his PR agents) has finally spoken up after reading this blog.

As for Roxana Saberi: it is better she didn't say anything and just shut up. It would also be better if her father would simply not
pretend that he knew how to translate Hafez, which he doesn't.

-

May we be amongst those who are to bring about the transfiguration of the Earth - Zoroastrian prayer

 


Beatrice_Dante

Roxana Saberi writes about her cellmates, the women of Yaran

by Beatrice_Dante on


"In Iran, shackling the Bahai torchbearers"

   

 By Roxana Saberi
Washington Post 
Saturday, August 28, 2010

 

For several weeks last year, I shared a cell in Tehran's notorious Evin prison with Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi, two leaders of Iran's minority Bahai faith. I came to see them as my sisters, women whose only crimes were to peacefully practice their religion and resist pressure from their captors to compromise their principles. For this, apparently, they and five male colleagues were sentenced this month to 20 years in prison.

I had heard about Mahvash and Fariba before I met them. Other prisoners spoke of the two middle-aged mothers whose high spirits lifted the morale of fellow inmates.

The Bahai faith, thought to be the largest non-Muslim minority religion in Iran, originated in 19th-century Persia. It is based on the belief that the world will one day attain peace and unity. Iranian authorities consider it a heretical offshoot of Islam.

After I was transferred to their cell, I learned that Mahvash had been incarcerated for one year and Fariba for eight months. Each had spent half her detention in solitary confinement, during which time they were allowed almost no contact with their families and only the Koran to read. Recently the two had been permitted to have a pen. Oh, how they cherished it! But they were allowed to use it only to do Sudoku and crossword puzzles in the conservative newspapers the prison guards occasionally gave them.

Mahvash, Fariba and their five colleagues faced accusations that included spying for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and, later, "spreading corruption on earth." All three could have resulted in the death penalty.

The Bahais denied these charges. Far from posing a threat to the Islamic regime, Mahvash and Fariba told me, Iran's estimated 300,000 Bahais are nonviolent and politically impartial.

Despite the gravity of the accusations against them, Mahvash and Fariba had not once been allowed to see attorneys. Yet my cellmates' spirits would not be broken, and they boosted mine. They taught me to, as they put it, turn challenges into opportunities -- to make the most of difficult situations and to grow from adversity. We kept a daily routine, reading the books we were eventually allowed and discussing them; exercising in our small cell; and praying -- they in their way, I in mine. They asked me to teach them English and were eager to learn vocabulary for shopping, cooking and traveling. They would use the new words one day, they told me, when they journeyed abroad. But the two women also said they never wanted to live overseas. They felt it their duty to serve not only Bahais but all Iranians.

Later, when I went on a hunger strike, Mahvash and Fariba washed my clothes by hand after I lost my energy and told me stories to keep my mind off my stomach. Their kindness and love gave me sustenance.

It pained me to leave them behind when I was freed in May 2009. I later heard that Mahvash, Fariba and their colleagues refused to make false confessions, as many political prisoners in Iran are pressured to do.

It was January when the Bahais' trial began. This month, the same Iranian judge who had sentenced me to eight years in prison on a false charge of spying for the United States sentenced the Bahais to 20 years. The charges they were convicted of have not yet been reported.

Human rights advocates have said the trial was riddled with irregularities. The defendants were eventually allowed to see attorneys but only briefly. The lawyers were given only a few hours to examine the thousands of pages in the prosecution's files. Early in the trial, state-run TV crews were present at what were supposed to be closed hearings. After the Bahais' attorneys objected, family members were allowed to attend the hearings, but foreign diplomats were barred, and the only journalists permitted were with state-run media. It appears that no evidence was presented against the defendants.

As their lawyers appeal, Mahvash and Fariba sit in Rajai Shahr prison outside Tehran. Even Evin prison, cellmates told me last year, is preferable to Rajai Shahr. The facility is known for torture, unsanitary conditions and inadequate medical care for inmates, who include murderers, drug addicts and thieves.

While Iranian authorities deny that the regime discriminates against citizens for religious beliefs, the Bahai faith is not recognized under the Iranian constitution. The known persecution of many Bahais includes being fired from jobs and denied access to higher education, as well as cemetery desecration. (The Bahais created their own unofficial university, which Mahvash used to direct; Fariba earned a degree in psychology there.) In addition to the seven leaders, 44 other Bahais are in prisons in Iran, the Baha'i International Community reports.

People of many nations and faiths have called for the release of the Bahai leaders. But many more must speak out -- such as by signing letters of support through Web sites such as United4Iran.com. Protests of these harsh sentences can make clear to authorities in Iran and elsewhere that they will be held accountable when they trample on human rights. Mahvash and Fariba occasionally hear news of this support, and it gives them strength to carry on, just as the international outcry against my imprisonment empowered me.

I know that despite what they have been through and what lies ahead, these women feel no hatred in their hearts. When I struggled not to despise my interrogators and the judge, Mahvash and Fariba told me they do not hate anyone, not even their captors.

We believe in love and compassion for humanity, they said, even for those who wrong us. Roxana Saberi, a journalist detained in Iran last year, is the author of "Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran." 


bottled-banana

Another example

by bottled-banana on

Of a Bahai overseas not speaking up just for Bahais in Iran, but also for other Iranians under persecution.

===============================================     Omid Djalili condemns Iran:

 

MUM-of-two Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani has been sentenced to death by stoning in Iran for alleged adultery. The sentence is on top of 99 lashes, already carried out, for having an "illicit" relationship with two men after her husband's death.

 

It is the latest example of Iranian justice that has appalled people around the world. Here British stand-up comic OMID DJALILI highlights her case and that of the persecuted Bahá'í religious minority.

I am deeply saddened by the Iranian government's treatment of its own citizens. To say that the Iranian judicial system might need 'a bit of updating' is an understatement.

"The integrity of their court must come into question and is surely compromised when Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a mother of two, can be sentenced to a cruel death by stoning because she has "confessed" to adultery (I'm assuming "Relate" counselling in that regime hasn't caught on yet?).

The seven leaders of Iran's Bahá'í community have just been sentenced to 20 years in jail. These innocent people, whose only 'crime' is that they are Bahá'ís, faced a sham trial earlier this year.

"Their former lawyer, Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, is clear that there is no evidence to support accusations that they were spreading propaganda, insulting Islam, or spying for Israel.

The oldest of the Bahá'í leaders - 77 year-old grandfather of six Jamaloddin Khanjani - will probably die in prison if the sentence is carried out. Over two years in harsh 'temporary detention' before the trial has seriously damaged the health of some of the others.

But it's not just the seven Bahá'í leaders. The whole 300,000 strong Bahá'í community in Iran has suffered appalling treatment, harassment and discrimination for decades. Fifty Bahá'í homes in northern Iran were torched in early July this year.

 

"Baha'ís are often sacked from their jobs, young Bahá'ís can't go to university, and Bahá'í children are bullied by teachers and school administrators. At least 47 other Bahá'ís are in prison at the moment.

The Bahá'í faith teaches unity in diversity. Bahá'ís everywhere invite people to work with them for the betterment of the world and in service to humanity as a whole. The faith has its roots in Iran, it is a gentle religion and poses absolutely no threat to the regime.

By imprisoning the seven Bahá'í leaders, Iran is ignoring its own laws, never mind its human rights obligations. The government of Iran must give the Bahá'ís a fair hearing and do the right thing and simply release these individuals.

"This is not the Iran of the past. Thankfully we live in an age when the eyes of the world are watching.

=====================================================

 Source:

//www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/3116344/Omid-Djalili-condemns-Iran-over-its-plans-to-execute-a-woman-by-stoning.html

 


Aryana-Vaeja

Whatever!

by Aryana-Vaeja on

No answer, eh? What else is new.

Transfiguration is a translation of the Avestan concept of the Frashkert, i.e. the Zoroastrian qiyamat where the Saoshyant and the Amesha Spenta lead a fiery cataclysmic war against ahriman and the counter-powers of darkness sending them permanently into the abyss and thereby as a result restoring the Earth to its original Celestial Form and Image, viz. its angelicity (fereshtegani)

Laugh away since you don't understand much of anything else anyway beyond what they brainwash you with in RUHI books 1-9!

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May we be amongst those who are to bring about the transfiguration of the Earth - Zoroastrian prayer


Waters

Transfiguration of earth...LOL

by Waters on

transfiguration..." cant stop laughing......empty..no independent value...

according to alil khan ee zulfi 

sometimes you act so deranged 

 

 

 

 

 


Aryana-Vaeja

Has no independent value

by Aryana-Vaeja on

These are empty proclamations from Haifan Bahai sources (almost all propaganda) designed to make your organization look good when the reality of it is that there is nothing really going on. Show me the same initiative with AI or HRW that your organization has been actively involved with on a widespread and prolonged official level. At the end of the day, you Haifan Bahais only care about your own interests, damned be the rest of the world.

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May we be amongst those who are to bring about the transfiguration of the Earth - Zoroastrian prayer


Waters

Alil khan Aryana Taghyzadeh!!!

by Waters on

Human rights sponsors...

  — A global day of action demanding an end to human rights abuses in Iran has been called for Saturday, 12 June.


The initiative – coordinated by human rights group United4Iran – is being cosponsored by numerous organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Nobel Women's Initiative, the Baha'i International Community, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, FIDH (Federation Internationale des ligues des Droits de l'Homme), and Pen International.

"In our support for this nonpartisan initiative, we are standing together with ordinary citizens throughout the world to draw attention to the continuing and widespread abuse of human rights in Iran," said Diane Ala'i, representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.

//news.bahai.org/story/773


Aryana-Vaeja

Safsate

by Aryana-Vaeja on

Have the leaders of all minorities been executed in the early years of the revolution?

Yes. You obviously have not studied much of the history of the revolution that you can even ask such a question.

Ar they all barred from access to higher education?

These are mostly exagerrated claims to begin with, and besides the issue of exagerration, it has been the insistent policy of the UHJ and its now incarcerated patsies in Iran for the Iranian Baha'i community to disengage from life in Iranian society and to not seek higher education in tertiary institutions. When Khatami was president the same claim was made yet Iranian Baha'is were regularly attending tertiary institutions despite the claims being put forth by the UHJ. It has only been since Ahmadinejad's presidency where conditions have radically changed (and deteriorated) for everybody, and not just Baha'is.

Have all their cemetaries and places of worship been demolished?

The desecration of cemetries is a tactic that this regime has used against virtually all of its past ideological enemies. They have desecrated the graves of secular figures and religious figures alike. Baha'is are not alone. One example here is the desecration of the graves of the Dawlatabadi family, namely, the graves of Hadi, Yahya and Sadiqe. Besides their secular progressive activism, this family were also members of the Azali Babi community, your oldest ideological rivals in Iran.  

I am aware that Sufi places of worship have been destroyed and some of their leaders imprisoned.

You don't say!

I agree media exposure probably helps mitigate the worst, perhaps
preventing large scale execution and disappearance of bahais. Still, I
doubt if the result is that bahais in Iran "have it better than anyone
else".

They do for the reasons previously stated.

You may also be interested to know that media work in the bahai
community is done by volunteers and a small number of people who are
supported by voluntary donations by bahais only.

Internal media work is done by volunteers, yes. But the kind of wide networking media work undertaken is not by volunteers.

The networking is indeed a strength

Yes, especially when such networking involves Washington based lobby organizations, political action commitees and ad hoc all-parliamentary bodies in the British parliament, not to mention special funds allocated by the US Congress and State Department for the furtherance of such activities on your behalf. And that is only the tip of a large monetary iceberg where your organization is concerned, and we haven't even gotten into broaching dud, shady outfits such as the Gulf based MuslimNetworkforBahai rights, etc.

I am afraid this is a grave distortion of the truth. Where on earth did you get this idea from?

On the contrary, it is the unmitigated truth. Pray tell, when was the last time your community officially even made an attempt to address the greater human rights abuse issue in Iran beyond its own? Every campaign launched by your organization has been targetted for its own specific issues and interests, never beyond its own. 

The sole reason for seeking media exposure specifically for the
situation in Iran is because  all hope of justice in Iran was lost, the
community is at risk of being extinguished and media exposure and
attention of other goverments and the UN is the only (and perhaps not
even very effective) protection.

This is a sound-bite official policy line answer. The truth is otherwise as stated before.

Why would they need to pay for their time?

Because no one else would take an organization such as yours seriously otherwise. And in this big bad world, money talks and sh*& walks! You Haifan Baha'is have deep pockets and you are notorious for buying your way into anything and everything.

It is a grave accusation to say that baha'is do not care about persecution of other minorities.

Grave or otherwise, it is the truth, at least on the official level. They don't give a damn, and the track record is there for anyone caring to look at it.

You simply do not know how many bahais participate in many other human rights issues without identifying themselves as bahais.

Give your sound bites and euphemistic platitudes a break! Until quite recently the official policy of every NSA was to bar Haifan Baha'is from belonging as members to human rights groups such as AI or HRW. Individuals were even being sanctioned by your institutions for doing so. Only quite recently at least the US NSA has eased such regulations. But the easing of such regulations still hasn't witnessed an overwhelming number of Baha'is getting involved in HR related issues. Instead Baha'is officially make common cause in Uganda with Christian and Islamic fundamentalists against homosexuals. That appears to be the extent of your extracurricular HR activism.

Specific statements in the media on the situation of other communities
in Iran by the international bahai community may only harm those
communities, as they will be seen as being associated with the 'bahai
enemy'.

LOL! Now that is funny and one of the lamest most transparent excuses I have ever read. Surely you jest!?

-

May we be amongst those who are to bring about the transfiguration of the Earth - Zoroastrian prayer


Martijn Rep

Dear Aryana-Vaeja

by Martijn Rep on

"repression of minorities in Iran is on an equal level of intensity targetting all in the same way"

I agree all minorities are targetted, but apparently not entirely in the same way. Have the leaders of all minorities been executed in the early years of the revolution? Ar they all barred from access to higher education? Have all their cemetaries and places of worship been demolished? I am aware that Sufi places of worship have been destroyed and some of their leaders imprisoned.

"Baha'is have it better than anyone else because of the monetary and networking pull they have in the West."

I agree media exposure probably helps mitigate the worst, perhaps preventing large scale execution and disappearance of bahais. Still, I doubt if the result is that bahais in Iran "have it better than anyone else". You may also be interested to know that media work in the bahai community is done by volunteers and a small number of people who are supported by voluntary donations by bahais only. The networking is indeed a strength. 

"Baha'is act and believe that the whole world should go to hell so long
as their issues are exclusively featured on the front page."

I am afraid this is a grave distortion of the truth. Where on earth did you get this idea from? The sole reason for seeking media exposure specifically for the situation in Iran is because  all hope of justice in Iran was lost, the community is at risk of being extinguished and media exposure and attention of other goverments and the UN is the only (and perhaps not even very effective) protection.

"While the Baha'is get the red carpet treatment on IC (obviously because they are paying for their time here),..."

Why would they need to pay for their time? All what is needed is for individuals to post news and write blogs.

It is a grave accusation to say that baha'is do not care about persecution of other minorities. You simply do not know how many bahais participate in many other human rights issues without identifying themselves as bahais. Specific statements in the media on the situation of other communities in Iran by the international bahai community may only harm those communities, as they will be seen as being associated with the 'bahai enemy'.


Aryana-Vaeja

State sponsored represession in Iran

by Aryana-Vaeja on

Does not stop with Baha'is in Iran nor is its intensity any more or less than any other minority in Iran. The only difference here is minorities such as Zoroastrians, Sufis, Iranians Sunnis, Sufis, etc, don't have deep pockets or regular access to Western lobbyist organizations or media to advocate on their behalf. Otherwise repression of minorities in Iran is on an equal level of intensity targetting all in the same way. As a matter of fact, one should go so far as to say that the Baha'is have it better than anyone else because of the monetary and networking pull they have in the West.

An example: a few weeks ago I posted emerging stories of the state's reignition of repression against the Gonabadi Sufis. It took a week to confirm the stories. On this site there was not a single response to the initial rumor or confirmation of the story.  This says in big bold letters where at least the priorities of this site lay.: i.e. in its backside. There wasn't even so much as a single comment. While the Baha'is get the red carpet treatment on IC (obviously because they are paying for their time here), no other Iranian minority group equally being targetted by the IR does.

This is the thing. Baha'is act and believe that the whole world should go to hell so long as their issues are exclusively featured on the front page. And this is their fundamental approach to human rights in Iran, and this is why I say it is pure hypocrisy and why people should be informed before participating in any global Twitter campaigns sponsored by them.

That said, I am happy to start a global Twitter campaign which includes all prisoners of conscience in Iran equally, Baha'is included. Who will join me? Obviously only a tiny handful here and definitely no Baha'is! QED

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May we be amongst those who are to bring about the transfiguration of the Earth - Zoroastrian prayer


elbi09

State sponsored repression and our duty to defend the helpless

by elbi09 on

The state sponsored repression of the Baha'is in Iran is one of several cases of abuse in that country.  

Baha'is are far from being alone in suffering but they are at the receiving end of a particularly insidious form of abuse, one that uses the State apparatus to misinform and incite hate, with no regard for the law or due process. If the world community can learn how to make this stop, the lessons learned will be applicable to many other instances of injustice.

 

The world community has to figure out the mechanics of the Right to intervene. When a country repeatedly commits injustice towards its own citizens, the rest of the world has a duty to step in, for the sake of justice and preservation of basic human rights.

 

This is something we have to learn to do and we also have to learn to make a clear distinction between these actions and other types of interventions that are motivated by less noble intentions.

 

Injustice is intolerable whether at home or in somebody else's country. The fact that it takes place behind another country's borders does not remove our moral duty to defend the innocent. 

 


otta

Justice for all

by otta on

 Perhaps this twitter campaign was started to simply bring attention to the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran that began in 1979 and has recently intensified? It doesn't seem to me that it was meant to signify that there is a gradient of injustice. Injustice is injustice, regardless to whom it is being targeted to and what religion or beliefs they have. It is always inexcusable and impermissible.  

As far as what I have read about the Baha'i Faith, it regards all of humanity as equal (regardless of gender, race, religion, ethnicity), and justice for all is a key component in the teachings.  For example, this is an direct excerpt from the Baha'i Writings:

"In the estimation of God all men are equal; there is no distinction or preferment for any soul in the dominion of His justice and equity."

I also found this article interesting, titled


The Human Rights Discourse: A Bahá'í Perspective

 //info.bahai.org/article-1-8-3-2.html

 


nadeem khan

Yes the Baha'is defend only Baha'is

by nadeem khan on

Aryana, baha'is love only baha'is because they know that these baha'is alongwith the support of their supreme, all male, infallible UHJ can make a difference. They want to build a 'New World Order' based on the teachings of their beloved prophet Mr.  Baha'Ö'llah. The Moslems, Azalis, Other Baha'is, are obstacle to this dream and the Haifan Baha'is are the 'Soldiers of Baha' U C.

Baha'is cry only for the Baha'is. But you see there are so many good moslems supporting the Baha'is. Even there is a websites of these innocent Moslems who defend the Baha'i rights. But the baha'is don't care of anybody except themselves. How mean... really.


Aryana-Vaeja

Umm, what?!

by Aryana-Vaeja on

Mona, what does this have to do with answering the question asked? Nothing!

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May we be amongst those who are to bring about the transfiguration of the Earth - Zoroastrian prayer


Mona Tahiri

Aryana

by Mona Tahiri on

A true Baha'i whose heart is closely linked with Baha'u'llah will grow
in spirituality. He will become so enamoured of Him that he will obey
His teachings wholeheartedly and serve His Cause with the utmost
devotion.

If the individual who has recognized the station of Baha'u'llah
perseveres in reading the Word of God in the morning and evening every
day, if he opens his heart to the influences of the Revelation of
Baha'u'llah, if he recites the obligatory prayer in the manner ordained
by Him, if he associates with devoted Baha'is who are on fire with the
Faith, and eschews fellowship with the ungodly, and if he arises to
serve the Cause, then his love for Baha'u'llah will increase day by day
and he will be assisted from on high to grow in spirituality and faith.

A letter from Counsellor Adib Taherzadeh to the beloved friends in Ireland.


Aryana-Vaeja

Why just 7 Baha'is? The hypocrisy/double-standards here

by Aryana-Vaeja on

Why not extend your worldwide Twitter campaign on behalf every single of one those Iranian prisoners of conscience incarcerated by the regime since the summer of 2009? Why stop at the 7 who actually got their day in court? There are presently 7 Gonabadi Sufi dervishes also incarcerated. Why not include them in such a campaign?

Why is it where human rights abuses in Iran are concerned Baha'is seem to act as if they own the issue and so are more entitled to international campaigns on behalf of their people than other Iranians? Human Rights is about human rights and the dignity, rights, freedom and liberty of human beings. By theoretical definition human rights is not supposed to privilege one group of persons over another. Yet the Baha'is act as if they matter more than anyone here and so are more entitled to advocacy on their behalf in Iran than anyone else. 

This is hypocrisy and double-standards as clear as day!

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May we be amongst those who are to bring about the transfiguration of the Earth - Zoroastrian prayer


iranshines

Thank you

by iranshines on

Thank you for your insights, and commentary on this subject. May we all join together and rally for a stop to this injustice for the Baha'is, and all Iranians experiences repression and a lack of freedom.


l_ottawa

Support for campaign

by l_ottawa on

Definitely support this!